N.Y. judge 'pounded the bench' in anger as Trump's lawyers tried to drag out trial

The New York judge overseeing the civil fraud trial against former President Donald Trump and his adult sons visibly expressed anger on Wednesday as the former president's lawyers tried to use stall tactics on him, The Messenger reported.

The frustration of Judge Arthur Engoron, who already ruled on the facts against Trump by summary judgment, came as the ex-president continues to lash out with racially charged attacks on New York Attorney General Letitia James.

"Engoron ... accus[ed] the attorneys of habitually rejecting simple measures to streamline the proceedings. He previously chided Trump’s defense team for repeatedly lodging statute of limitations objections, instead of a continuing objection that he said would have served the purposes of their appeal," reported Adam Klasfeld. "At one point, Engoron pounded on the bench — and instructed the stenographer to note he was doing that — while indignantly telling Trump’s legal team: 'This is ridiculous.' The narrowly muzzled Trump held fire on his criticism of the judge on Wednesday morning, but after he left for the day, the former president told reporters that he was unfair, pushing the press to disseminate his view of the proceedings."

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"After he left, James took offense at the former president’s 'offensive,' 'baseless' and 'race-baiting' critiques, declaring: 'The Donald Trump show is over,'" the report noted.

According to James' civil suit, Trump and his family inflated the value of the Trump Organization's assets well above what they were actually worth in order to obtain insurance and loans; as Engoron noted, Trump even lied about the square footage of his penthouse in Trump Tower.

Trump has defended his valuations by claiming that they are subjective, and that he didn't actually hurt his creditors because all of the loans were repaid anyway.